NFL Week 9 Recap
The Tennessee Titans needed overtime to protect their perfect record against Green Bay. Meanwhile there is only one winless team left, Kurt Warner had a monster game once again, and the Raiders may be looking for a new new coach.New York Jets (5-3) 26
Buffalo Bills (5-3) 17
Things in the AFC East continue to get cloudier as Buffalo drops another, this time at home against the Jets. After Buffalo dominated the clock in the first half, but not the scoreboard, Brett Favre kept the Jets in front before throwing an interception for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. But he then came back and led the Jets on a 14 play, 8:41 drive for a field goal to put it out of reach for New York.
Chicago Bears (5-3) 27
Detroit Lions (0-8) 23
Kyle Orton scored on a 5-yard run before going out with an ankle injury, and Detroit scored 20 unanswered in the second quarter. But Rex Grossman came into lead the Bears and while his numbers weren't great in the second half (9/19, 58 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD), he led the Bears to two scoring drives and the defense pitched a second half shutout to steal Detroit's first win of the season from them.
Cincinnati Bengals (1-8) 21
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5) 19
Only a few weeks ago, it looked like Jacksonville was a favorite in the AFC and Cincinnati's Ryan Fitzpatrick might never win a game. The Jaguars have now lost three of the last four games (two at home) and Fitzpatrick led the Bengals to their first win of the season with a two-touchdown game, both to Chad Johnson. Jacksonville missed a two-point conversion with just over 1:00 to play that would have tied the game.
Baltimore Ravens (5-3) 37
Cleveland Browns (4-4) 27
Josh Cribbs returned kickoff 92-yards for a touchdown for Cleveland, but the Browns were inconsistent again this week, allowing rookie Joe Flacco to have his best game as a pro, 248 yards and two touchdowns, and Ray Rice to rush for 154 yards. Baltimore's defense held Jamal Lewis to just 49 yards, forced one fumble and one interception and shut out the Browns in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee Titans (8-0) 19
Green Bay Packers (4-4) 16 (OT)
Rob Bironas missed a potential game-winning 44 yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter, but nailed a 41 yarder in overtime. Aaron Rodgers racked up 314 yards in the loss for the Packers, while Chris Johnson and LenDale White combined for another 166 yards on the ground for Tennessee, helping keep them perfect for their first eight games of the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) 30
Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) 27 (OT)
Kansas City jumped out to a 14-0 lead and quarterback Tyler Thigpen scored on a 37 yard reception. Clifton Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown for Tampa Bay and Jeff Garcia had a huge game (31/43, 339 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) to lead the Buccs' comeback. Jamaal Charles had 106 yards rushing, starting place of Chiefs' suspended runningback Larry Johnson.
Arizona Cardinals (5-3) 34
St. Louis Rams (2-6) 13
Marc Bulger connected with Derek Stanley for an 80 yard touchdown on the first play of St. Louis's second possession. At that point, St. Louis must have had visions of winning and pulling within 1 game of the NFC West lead, but Antrel Rolle returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown for Arizona and the Cardinals added two more touchdowns in the final two minutes of the half to take the game back. The Cardinals scored 31 unanswered points, spanning the second and third quarters, as Kurt Warner threw for 342 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Minnesota Vikings (4-4) 28
Houston Texans (3-5) 21
Minnesota's Gus Frerotte threw for 148 yards in the first half and just 34 in the second, but he also tossed three interceptions and Adrian Peterson added one of his own (plus 139 yards on the ground) to hold off the Texans. Sage Rosenfels entered the game in the second half after Houston quarterback Matt Schaub went down with a knee injury, and Rosenfels had 224 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Texans.
Atlanta Falcons (5-3) 24
Oakland Raiders (2-6) 0
Darren McFadden can't be this valuable to the Raiders, can he? The Raiders managed just three first downs, none in the first half, and 77 yards of total offense against the Falcons. Matt Ryan won the battle of the highly drafted rookie quarterbacks, going 17-for-22 with 220 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. JaMarcus Russell, on the other hand, was 6-for-19, for 31 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Michael Turner rushed for 139 yards for the Falcons to lead all rushers.
Miami Dolphins (4-4) 26
Denver Broncos (4-4) 17
Jay Cutler put up some good numbers (306 yards, two touchdowns), and some really bad numbers (3 interceptions). Miami's Joey Porter sacked Cutler once and the Dolphins defense held the Broncos to just 14 yards on 12 carries.
Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) 26
Seattle Seahawks (2-6) 7
Koren Robinson took a pass 90 yards on Seattle's first play of the game, but the Seahawks gained just 150 yards of total offense for the rest of the game. Donovan McNabb put up 349 yards with two touchdowns and one interception as the Eagles rolled to a huge win in Seattle.
New York Giants (7-1) 35
Dallas Cowboys (5-4) 14
The Giants had an easy opening drive for a touchdown and never looked back. Dallas' Brad Johnson threw two interceptions before being replaced at quarterback, and Brooks Bollinger threw a pick on his first play behind center. The Giants defense had four sacks, four take-aways and allowed just seven points. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown, pushing the Cowboys down into last place in the NFC East.
Don't miss our Week 9 Power Rankings slideshow on Tuesday.
